Carlton coach Brett Ratten says AFL history is littered with false dawns in round one and the Blues could learn that the hard way if they drop their intensity against Brisbane on Saturday night.

Sitting on top of the AFL ladder after their season-opening thumping of Richmond, Ratten said he had spent time this week telling his players about a succession of past teams who failed to live up to their early promise.

"History shows if you go through round ones in the past and I've showed the group this, it doesn't make a season," Ratten said on Wednesday.

"Last year Essendon walloped the Kangaroos by a fair bit, Essendon didn't make the finals, the Kangaroos did.

"... Every year you look at the first round it shows a bottom eight team has beaten a top eight team, this year hopefully it's not us."

Delighted with his team's defensive intensity across the ground against the Tigers, Ratten said that had to be their benchmark every round.

He said if that aspect of their game dropped off, Brisbane could wreak havoc with a classy midfield feeding big forwards Jonathan Brown and Daniel Bradshaw.

Brown and Bradshaw kicked 10 goals between them when the clubs last met, late last season.

Ratten said it would be impossible for the Blues' young defence to stop the gun pair doing a similar job at Etihad Stadium on Saturday night if Carlton did not stifle the Lions further upfield.

"It will be about the ball supply," Ratten said.

"If Josh Drummond is allowed to waltz out of the halfback line then Bradshaw or Brown will get it on a platter, no-one will defend it, it doesn't matter if you've got (All Australian fullback Matthew) Scarlett and these blokes down there."

Small forward Rhan Hooper would also need close attention, after his game-turning display against West Coast on Saturday night.

Ratten said Lions midfielders Luke Power, Travis Johnstone and first-gamer Daniel Rich hit top form against the Eagles, while former Brownlow Medallist Simon Black should return from injury to join them this weekend.

"In the West Coast game they started winning centre bounce clearances and that really had a massive impact on the scoreboard," Ratten said.

"That will be the challenge, especially at Telstra Dome you can score quickly there from centre bounces, so that will be the big thing for us and them to see if we can win that battle, who wins it might win the game."

He said captain Chris Judd (flu) and star forward Brendan Fevola (bruised heel) would definitely play against the Lions despite minor ailments.

But Shaun Grigg and Andrew Walker, who missed the opening round with fitness concerns, were no certainties to come into the side given the strong team performance against the Tigers.

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